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Pence's monster month earns NL honors

Pence's monster month earns NL honors

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By Andrew Simon
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MLB.com |

A lucrative September got even better for Hunter Pence on Monday, when the Giants outfielder was named National League Player of the Month, presented by Budweiser.

Pence, who agreed to a five-year extension with San Francisco over the weekend, helped his cause with a huge final month. In 27 September games, he hit .293 with a .393 on-base percentage and a Major League-leading .667 slugging percentage. The seven-year veteran also tied for the MLB lead with 11 home runs and was first with 32 RBIs.

Pence started all 162 games this season, the first Giants player to do so since Alvin Dark in 1954, when the season was 154 games long. Sunday's season finale against the Padres was his NL-leading 171st consecutive game overall, and he celebrated with a walk-off single to give the Giants a 7-6 victory at AT&T Park.

The day before, Pence smacked his club-leading 27th home run, the most for the Giants since Barry Bonds hit 28 in 2007. Pence also became the first Giant since Bonds in 1998 to reach 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. He fell only one RBI short of reaching 100 for the second year in a row, despite a six-RBI outburst in a 4-for-5 effort Sept. 10 against the Rockies and a seven-RBI night, including a grand slam, vs. the Dodgers on Sept. 14.

While earning his first Player of the Month honor, Pence also received the Giants' annual Willie Mac Award on Friday night as the team's most inspirational player. He finished the season hitting .283/.339/.483.

Andrew Simon is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @HitTheCutoff. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.